In 1982, Zippo celebrated the 50th anniversary of its lighters by producing a replica of an early model for the first time ever. It was a flat bottomed, solid-brass model and had a diagonally-cut line on both the top of the lid and the bottom of the case. This was the reproduction of the 1937 model and came in a box that had the same design as the one used between 1935 and 1940, which bore the illustration of the "Windproof Beauty".

The Commemorative box had a gold finish rather than the original silver finish. This reproduction was based on the 1935 prototype box that was never used in production. The Vintage Series made its first debut in 1985; it was a reproduction of the square-shaped 1937 model. While the Commemorative Zippo Lighter was a reproduction of the 1937 model, which was manufactured by pressing. In 1988, the reproduction of the 1932 model was offered only through subscription. The original 1932 Zippo lighters are extremely rare these days.

The reproduction model had a 1/4 inch thick plastic raised bottom to accommodate a regular inside unit and the regular inside hinge was placed outside of the case. To commemorate its 60th anniversary, Zippo sold a set of six reproduction models. The replica of the 25th anniversary model, which was produced in 1957, is the one that mostly resembles the original.

As more people have quit smoking over the past several years, the market for Zippo lighters has begun to decline. While Zippo still remains dominate in the refillable lighter market, a new and broader approach was needed to expand sales. In 2001, Zippo began producing other products. Instead of being single-product business, the time had come for expansion and changes.

The Multi-Purpose Zippo Lighter was the first new product to be released in 2002. This lighter, while not intended for use by a smoker, was aimed towards jobs such as lighting candles, lanterns, fireplaces, grills, and camp fires. While keeping a sharp design, it was able to offer and an adjustable length flame. The new Multi-purpose Zippo Lighter started off strongly that first year by selling an estimated 2 million lighters. With the release of this new product line, many more retailers that formerly didn’t carry Zippo lighters, now carry Zippo products.

Besides only lighter products, Zippo has begun producing pocket knives, watches, bottle openers, flash lights, tape measurers and money clips. Adding these products over the past several years has shown Zippo’s effort to remain competitive in the 21st century. The question is, what will the next new Zippo products be?

The package is part of the Zippo art. By appearance, the lighter boxes are roughly classified into 12 different size categories. But, if the mount-style differences and specially made series boxes are taken into account, the number would total well over 30 categories. The mount used between 1932 and 1933 was plain cardboard with a lighter-shaped cutout, covered with matte-black paper. The paper was switched to a glossy style that was used from the year 1933 until 1936. Zippo has offered a free repair service, which supports its lifetime guarantee, since its foundation. Up until 1940, a repaired Zippo was returned in the package in which the Zippo was sent for the service. If this was not possible, the Zippo was delivered in a brand new box.

From 1941, the company used collapsible boxes for returning Zippos that had been sent back for repair. Return boxes for repaired Zippos were used until 1951; from 1952, the new box was introduced for regular Zippo lighters and the return boxes were changed to the same striped boxes as the regular ones. Since then, the boxes for returns were changed, following the modifications to regular models, until 1978. Then the use of boxes was terminated, the last boxes were decorated with the flame design. From 1981 to 1986, a plastic package was used.

When George Blaisdell bought the patent to the Austrian windproof lighter design, he was onto an American desire and need that remain potent in the culture for decades to come. The Zippo lighter was windproof, refillable, and had an unprecedented warranty for repairs.

Since 1933, the Zippo lighter has been providing smokers, campers, hikers and the like an invaluable tool for gaining quick and reliable access to a flame. With a flick of the lid, a Zippo provides a light in just about any weather conditions, including cold windy and cold temperatures.

Unlike other lighters, the benefits of a Zippo lighter include constant flame, a refillable fluid compartment, a rust-proof body and an easy access flame. Many people fiddle for hours with standard lighters, either trying to remove the child safety lock or hold down the hot depressor. With a Zippo, you need only to flip the lid and hold the the lighter, which adds stability and assuredness to its users.

The Zippo also comes with an excellent lifetime warranty, it is so reliable that Zippo services over 100,00 lighters every year. With all these great benefits, I am sure a Zippo is a great thing for anyone to own.

I bought this Zippo lighter last week because I am a big New Orleans Saints fan and also a smoker. I was pleasantly surprised with my purchase when I received it and realized what a high quality lighter a Zippo is. This is my first actual Zippo lighter, I have owned imitation Zippo lighters and I think I will never use another kind of lighter again. You can actually light a Zippo in the wind! I was amazed by how much better my lighter worked than a regular Bic lighter.

Modern Zippo lighters are much more complex than you would think. In short this is how your Zippo works: The flint wheel is spun causing a spark in the wick; The tube passing all the way from the inner part of the Zippo to the wick contains the fuel used for the Zippo’s ignition; When lit, fuel is constantly passing through the previously mentioned tube at a slow rate to make it burn slowly. Due to the nature of the Zippo’s fuel, this whole process is very slow, but that is good because it helps save fuel.

Even though this might seem like a simple thing to accomplish, take note that a modern Zippo lighter contains in between 22 and 40 pieces. In order to make a Zippo lighter, more than 110 different manufacturing operations are required.